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OMV has options in case transit of Russian gas through Ukraine halted — CEO

According to Alfred Stern, the company has increased gas storage capacity in Austria and entered into a long-term contract for the purchase of liquefied natural gas

MOSCOW, October 31. /TASS/. Austria’s OMV continues to receive gas from Gazprom but the company has already found alternative routes and sources in case transit through Ukraine is halted, the company’s CEO Alfred Stern said.

"We have worked very hard to diversify our portfolio of supplies and we have booked logistics capacities, so that today we are in a position to fulfill all our obligations to customers from non-Russian supply sources with the pipeline capacity bookings that we have made. Also, whenever it is necessary, if Russian supplies stop, we will be able to switch to alternative supplies," Stern said in a conference call.

He noted that OMV has two gas supply contracts with Gazprom: under the German contract there have been no deliveries since mid-2022, while under the Austrian contract Gazprom continues to provide supplies via a pipeline through Ukraine to the border of Slovakia and Austria.

Earlier, the head of Naftogaz Alexey Chernyshov said that Ukraine would not renew the agreement on the transit of Russian gas to Europe, which expires at the end of 2024.

According to Stern, OMV is focusing not only on its own production, but also on long-term contracts with other producers, including Equinor and BP, as well as Italy. The company has also increased gas storage capacity in Austria and entered into a long-term contract for the purchase of liquefied natural gas (LNG), he added. OMV will receive its first LNG shipment from Adnoc in December.

In June 2018, an agreement was signed to extend the existing contract between Gazprom Export LLC and OMV Gas Marketing&Trading GmbH for the supply of Russian natural gas to Austria until 2040. Previously, the contract was valid until 2028.

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